Abstract

This paper looks at the evolution of principles and rules of
administrative procedure in the European Union and their
implications for national systems of administrative law. Section 1
treats the development of 'general principles of administrative
procedure' by the Luxembourg Courts. Section 2 deals with
problems of conflicts which may arise when procedural principles
of administrative law gain the status of a fundamental human
right, with special reference to the European Convention on
Human Rights. Section 3 turns to the 'soft law' principles of good
administration promulgated by the European Ombudsman in his
Code of Good Administrative Behaviour. Section 4 looks briefly at
the increasing volume of sector-specific regulation by the EU,
which often directly imposes procedural requirements on national
administrations. Section 5 covers horizontal EU requirements in
respect of access to information and privacy. The authors foresee a
gradual convergence of national procedural requirements,
concluding that a gradual approach will prove more effective in
the long run than codification at EU level or other attempts at
formal procedural harmonisation.